1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to conveyors and, more particularly, to a conveyor having a carrier adapted to be coupled to a workpiece and drivably engageable by a chain.
2. Discussion
Conveyors are widely used to move workpieces through manufacturing and assembly operations. Examples of such applications include coating or painting systems where the carrier is coupled to the workpiece and engageable with a drive chain. While a variety of conveyor, carrier, and other assemblies are used in the art to convey workpieces through assembly and manufacturing environments, a need exists for carrier assemblies configured to provide greater stability and flexibility in positioning the carrier and the workpieces relative to the chain. The stability of the carrier and workpiece are particularly important when the center of gravity of this assembly increases in distance from the support surface or when the carrier is moved through horizontal or vertical curves.
Many conveyor carriers include wheels that ride on a bearing surface to movably support the carrier and attached workpiece. While a variety of carrier and wheel configurations are used in the art, a need exists for a configuration that permits the carrier to move smoothly through horizontal turns and vertical curves while providing stable support for the workpiece. Another important operational criteria of the conveyor system is that the carriers should be easily re-spaced along the drive chain while the conveyor is in use. The structure providing the additional stability should not impact the spacing flexibility of the overall system.
Finally, in many applications it is desirable to change the orientation of the workpiece relative to the carrier travel path in order to simplify the performance of a production task on the workpiece. While many prior art systems have attempted to address this concern, the solutions have often times been ineffective or overly complex. Accordingly, a need exists for a conveyor system, including a carrier configuration, that provides increased stability without impacting the ease of re-spacing the carriers and that provides for reorientation of the workpiece relative to the carrier.
One object of the present invention is to provide a stable carrier for moving a workpiece through an assembly or manufacturing operation.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a stabilizer track configuration that provides the improved stability while also allowing the carrier to be removed from engagement and repositioned relative to the drive chain.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a rotator assembly for simply and efficiently rotating a workpiece coupled to the carrier to a desired orientation.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a carrier assembly with each of the above benefits.
In view of the above, the present invention is directed to a conveyor and carrier for use with conveyor wherein the carrier includes a frame having a longitudinal axis, a first pair of load wheels rotatably coupled to the frame, and a first pair of stabilizer wheels positioned laterally outward of the first pair of load wheels and rotatably coupled to the frame. The conveyor includes the carrier, a drive, and a stabilizer track having first and second channels spaced from one another. The first pair of stabilizer wheels are disposable for movement within the channels.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims, and drawings. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.